Barrington School Board negotiating tuition agreements for high school students

By Liz Markhlevskaya

lmark@fosters.com

fosters.com

By Liz Markhlevskaya

lmark@fosters.com

Posted Dec. 22, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By Liz Markhlevskaya

lmark@fosters.com

Posted Dec. 22, 2012 at 3:15 AM

BARRINGTON — School Board members are preparing to negotiate with area high schools on tuition agreements being considered, in hopes of giving Barrington parents more choice of where to send their children to school.

While a new high school in town has previously been considered, the School Board recently voted to abandon those plans, due to lack of available state school building aid.

Barrington’s tuition contract with Dover High School expires in June 2014. After that, the hope is to have several tuition agreements worked out with other high schools.

The School Board has recently been talking with Coe-Brown Academy, Somersworth High School, Oyster River High School and Dover High School on what tuition agreements might look like, and what each school has to offer.

“(School Board members) want to make sure they have the right fit for each student,” said Superintendent Gail Kushner.

Barrington has about 400 high school-aged students, and 30 more are expected next year, said Kushner.

This year, the School District is paying $11,086 per student as part of its tuition agreement with Dover High School.

Initial proposals for future tuition agreements have already been released by some area high schools. Dover High School has proposed a cost of $11,527 per student; Somersworth High School has proposed $12,000 per student; and Oyster River High School has proposed $13,000 per student. For students requiring special education, costs would be higher.

In January, School Board members Dave Gibson and Deb McNally will begin negotiating with the high schools about the tuition agreements.

Kushner said she hopes negotiations will be complete in a few months, and a public informational meeting on the issue is anticipated in the spring.

Aside from having a tuition agreement with Dover High School, Barrington School District also has memorandums of understanding with Coe-Brown Academy and Oyster River High School, which state that Barrington students may attend those schools, but there’s tuition in place established by those schools. Currently, if Oyster River High School or Coe-Brown Academy ask for tuition that’s greater than Dover High School’s, Barrington parents sending their children there must pay the difference.

It’s still unclear how many high schools Barrington will end up having tuition agreements with, or what the final costs will be, said Kushner.

“It looks like an increase (financially) no matter what we do,” she said.

Another issue that will need to be worked out is transportation. While Barrington students attending Dover High School currently ride the same busses that transport children to the Barrington Middle School and Elementary School, town students attending Coe-Brown Academy or Oyster River High School are typically brought to school by parents, with no school busses being provided.